Synthesia
by Sol-angelii
Summary: Loki learned to play the piano by himself, Bruce couldn't bring himself to play anymore, Clint didn't want people to know he played the violin, Tony was a musical prodigy, Steve wished people would appreciate the classics, Thor just wanted to impress his brother, Natasha actually wanted to sing and not dance, Fury was afraid his school would go to hell, and Darcy just plays tuba.
1. Loki beginnings

**This is an Avengers AU!fic. I'm no too sure about the pairings yet, besides Steve/Tony and Clint/Bruce (I can't help it, I love those pairings to bits!)**

**The fic will be centered around Loki and Bruce, maybe Tony or Steve will butt in at some point. Hope you enjoy!**

When Loki was six years old, he found a grand piano down in the basement. Surrounding the piano was countless of old instruments, all of them looking rusty and dead, except the grand piano. Young Loki dusted it off and was rewarded with a heavy sneeze attack. The boy sniffled and touched one of the keys carefully. A soft sound dripped out of the piano, flowing into his fingers and warmed them. The young boy smiled. He sat down on the rusty stool and tapped one and one key at the same time as he smiled gleefully to himself.

When his mother called out to him come in for dinner, Loki startled and hurried out of the room like he was near being caught with his hand down in the cookie jar.

"My dear, where have you been? You're covered in dust" His mother grabbed a napkin and tried to get most of the dust off.

"Mother…" Loki whined, but stilled as his father walked in. He caught sight of the dusty boy and gave a disapproving sigh. The young boy shrunk where he stood. Moments later another young boy rushed into the room, some dirt in his face and grass stains on his clothes.

"I scored 8 times father!" The blonde boy beamed. His father smiled down at him and patted the unruly hair of his son.

"Good job son, soon you'll be able to join the junior football team"

Loki kept his eyes on the floor.

"There you are brother, I thought you went out with me?"

The dark haired boy looked up and met Thor's intense blue gaze.

"Loki wasn't feeling too well today darling, so I told him to stay inside"

"Oh good, some of the boys said it was because Loki is adopted. What's that even supposed to mean?" Thor looked up to his father; Loki looked down at the floor.

Right, Loki was adopted…

"I'll tell you later, son"

It wasn't a big secret, Loki had always known. Thor was just being his usual slow self.

"So what have you done today Loki?" His mother looked at him with kind eyes as she sat the pot down on the table. Loki opened his mouth, wanted to tell them about his discovery in the basement, but then he remembered Thor's 8 goals in the back yard and their father's approval. Loki had achieved nothing as of yet, he had only coaxed random tunes out from the piano. So the dark haired boy clamped his lips shut and just shook his head.

After dinner he taught himself Twinkle, Twinkle.

When Loki was eight he begun taking odd jobs around the house to earn a little money; he helped his mother in the garden, helped her clean the house (even though they already had great help from their house-maid and butler), he helped her make dinner and went on small errands for her. After a week or so he had finally saved enough to buy his first melody-book. But to understand the book he needed to learn about keys and notes and tunes and everything else. It seemed so vast, but Loki was stubborn.

Every day after school the dark haired boy would stay a couple of hours in the school library. He read, took notes and copied text into his own note-book. He never borrowed the books to take home.

One day he missed dinner. Odin was not pleased. Loki kept his head bowed during the entire lecture before he was sent to his room without dinner. It was alright though, at least it proved that the man cared a little bit about what happened to his adoptive son, besides, an hour or so later his mother would come up with left-overs and ask about his day.

A few weeks after that incident Loki taught himself Für Elise…

When Loki was 10 he began asking for piano music for Christmas and birthdays. It only took one Christmas for him to get a grand collection of all the greats like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Bartok and so on. He listened to it all the time, trained himself in recognizing notes and writing them down on paper so he could play it later, perhaps correct it a bit if he had noted down something wrong or out of place. It took a lot of the boy's time, but he forced himself through it. Building up a patience that was beyond most 10-year olds, he still liked to play songs he heard in kid's show though.

When Loki was 13 he learned to play "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", he was beaming with pride the first time he managed to finish it in a decent tempo without any faults. He decided that it was time to tell his family what had been up to. He spent a whole week cleaning up in the music room, of course he had cleaned up there before, but he had never bothered making it cozy for other people as well. He got the butler to help him carry down the couch from his own room down to the music room after sorting through all the other instruments.

"So this is where the young sir has been spending his hours" The butler mused with a small smile. Loki smiled back.

"Would you like help to keep it clean from now?"

"That'd be great James"

The butler even helped him fix the lighting in the room, when they were done (and the maid had butted in and helped decorate the room) the music room looked wonderful. Loki's eyes must have been shining because both the maid and butler smiled affectionately at him which caused Loki to smile back. He was going to ask his parents down to the room during dinner.

He barely managed to sit still as he waited for the right moment to ask his parents down. He was just about to open his mouth and ask when Thor walked in.

"Sorry I'm late, but I was at band practice!"

"Band practice?"

"Yeah, I've been taking guitar lessons and me and my friends have decided to start up a band!" Thor beamed.

"That's wonderful son! My boy, a modern artist" Their father smiled.

"Can't you invite your friends over so we can hear you play, hm? It's no problem, you can practice here" Their mother smiled sweetly.

All Loki could think of as he listened to the cat choir noise coming from his brother and band-mates, was the lovely white rose that was slowly withering down in his piano room.

He learned the Moonlight sonata later that night.

Loki took notice when his Brother was going to practice at home, for he made sure that he ate up quickly so he could slip unnoticed down into the basement, no one would mind. Besides Loki had developed a rather harsh dislike for modern music, something he made sure his brother knew. The years passed by uneventful, Loki began coming up with music on his own or he made piano covers for music he heard on the radio. Modern music wasn't so bad once it came from a piano.

He became more distant, stood up to his father and was downright stubborn 60 % of the time. He never called them neither mother nor father anymore, it was always "Frigga and Odin" now, it upset Frigga. Loki didn't think too much of it though.

"Have you given a thought to where you want to go when High school is over, Loki?" His mother smiled at him, it was a careful smile. Loki had grown up to become a tall, lean and dark haired young man with brilliant green eyes. He glanced over at his brother who looked like his complete opposite. Tall, yes, but broad and muscular with intense blue eyes and a face that was so easy to read it was ridiculous. He looked back at Frigga again.

"Yes, I'm going to a music school in the states"

"What? And how do you plan on getting in?" Odin looked up at him, brows arched. "You don't play-"

"I play the piano" Loki said matter-of-factly, something childish within him cooed gleefully at the shocked expression on both parent's faces. Thor looked up as well, Odin opened his mouth again.

"I've already been accepted on talent alone, I sent a tape. It's a scholarship school where those with talent get accepted without having to pay a lot of money, especially if we just live on campus instead of seeking other places to live. I don't have to pay anything; I've already gotten a patron. He's a professor there and he vouched for me after seeing my tape. All I have to pay is the travel expenses" The words were silken, dripping out from his mouth smoothly. The maid used to say that the piano had given Loki its flow and tunes so that he may use it in speech, she had been quite poetic when she said it. She claimed it was because of Loki's playing. He adored that maid, if it wasn't for her and her sister over in the states Loki would never have known about the talent school. He would have been stuck here in England probably doing Odin's bidding because he wouldn't know where to go. Now he had everything sorted, all he needed to do was pack up and leave.

"T-that's wonderful" Frigga said, but her lower lip was quivering slightly, Loki only felt a small sting of guilt.

"I leave a month after graduation"

"But that's-"

"Why didn't you inform us Loki?" Odin cut off his wife, Loki got up from his chair.

"You have already done so much for me, I wanted to show that I can look after myself" Loki let his green eyes sweep over the three that was still at the table.

"Dinner was delicious mother" He said, marking the end of the conversation as he turned and left the kitchen.

That night Loki played Innovation no. 4 by Bach before he went to bed.

On their graduation Thor's band played an obnoxious song that was too pointless and upbeat for a graduation, it didn't fit the occasion at all. The students all cheered and stood, jamming with or whatever they called it. Loki didn't care and he stayed seated through the entire gig. When the hall calmed down and the teachers made everyone sit again the music teacher came onto the stage.

"It has come to our attention that one of our students has been sneaking behind our backs and acquired a talent great enough to be accepted into a talent school"

Loki sank into his seat, stupid Thor and his idiotic friends; this was their doing Loki was sure of it.

"Would you mind playing something for us Loki?" The teacher, ever friendly, had masked intentions for he seemed ever so pleased as all eyes turned on Loki who was forced to straighten up in his seat. The teacher met his eyes, daring him. With a straight face Loki stood up, a silent gasp going through the crowd. He walked, if somewhat stiffly, up to the stage and was almost guided towards a grand piano that had been pushed onto the stage. His mind race, what would he play? He knew many, plenty songs. What would fit the occasion? He glanced at the crowd as he sat down. What would they like… his eyes spotted Thor who wore a somewhat sheepish smile. Loki felt a heat pool within his stomach and it spread, filling his every nerve. His eyes narrowed and he fully glared at Thor and Thor noticed it.

Then Loki began playing, his fingers hitting several keys as the intro, making the crowd start. He turned his full attention towards the piano and let his fingers fly over the keys as he performed a song he wasn't all too sure of yet, but Stravinsky's "Petrushka" was damn impressive.

As the song built up intensity and speed, Loki's confidence grew, until it suddenly halted completely. His fingers stopped playing by themselves and his entire body froze, what was the next part? Oh god, he didn't remember the next part! A quick glance at the crowd, a devious smile formed in that pale face. These ones had probably never heard Stravinsky before, they didn't know how this piece went, time to improvise. Loki's fingers hit the keys again, making up pieces as he went, using random inspiration and notes from other songs at the same time as he tried to remember the actual notes for the rest of the actual song he was supposedly performing. His sudden hit on the keys made the crowd startle again, making it all look like it was for show and not that the pianist was uncertain.

Loki's memory finally caught up with him and somehow he managed to flip it back to the original piece without the crowd taking notice. He ended the song early in a very abrupt way that made it clear he did it on purpose. He closed the piano, got up, did an elegant bow and made towards the exit of the stage. That's when the applause hit, first from a bewildered music teacher, then the crowd followed suit. Loki stopped and looked at them, saw the faint sign of awe in their faces.

For the first time in what felt like forever, he smiled a genuine smile.

When Loki was almost 20 years old, he found himself on the plane bound towards America and his hard won place on a rather well-known talent school. He took out his phone, put it on fly mode and played magic piano with his head-set on.

**This part is more like a prologue. The fun starts in the talent school where the rest of our heroes await. **


	2. L: What is this place I have found?

**This chapter is raw so there might or there might not be strange errors in it. If any of you would like to beta for me (and I would love you if you did) just beta a chapter that's already out, PM me and I'll give you my e-mail address so you can send it to me :) **

Loki was almost dead on his feet when his plane finally landed. The fact that he had to stand around and wait in the very hot, narrow and crowded hallway because some idiots had to check his passport before he got into the actual airport irked him to no end and made him cranky. A cranky Loki who could also go into upper class mode due to his upbringing was not something any custom guard would want to encounter.

"Watch out, it bites" The man in front of his said with a hint of humor as he handed the control his passport. Loki just stared icily at the poor man when he handed out his own passport; the man was quick to move his gaze elsewhere.

"Business or pleasure…?" Yet another control of passport and now this almost cross interrogation. Loki felt his face twitch. He had just about had enough of this.

"Whatever it is I am doing I'm quite sure it is none of your business" It was spoken softly, but his silent glare spoke volumes.

"It's a necessary precaution sir."

"If this pointless babbles do not cease your precautions won't do a thing!" Loki almost hissed and the woman actually recoiled a bit, she stamped Loki's passport and handed it to him quickly.

"Have a pleasant stay" she squeaked before Loki grumbled past her.

After getting his suit case and bag, thank god no one stopped him this time or he might have had to make good on his threats, he made his way to the reception hall. He had been instructed that someone would be waiting for him there, his instructor (and patron) to be exact. He didn't have to look much at all before he spotted a man holding up the school's emblem. It wasn't a very tall man, but he wasn't very short either, fairly average. Though being tall himself and coming from a family who seemed to have giant blood in their veins the man seemed pretty short to Loki. He walked up to the man smoothly, aware that the man hadn't spotted him yet.

"Professor Banner?" He inquired carefully, the man startled slightly and moved so he was facing Loki (which meant he had to tilt his head a bit upwards). Then he smiled.

"You must be Loki Odinson, your ID did say you were tall, I just couldn't get that it was THIS tall" Professor Banner chuckled. Loki smiled, silently giving a breath of relief. He liked this man, he seemed relaxed and nice.

"But you must be itching to get out of this place, I know I do. Too many people can make me twitchy"

"Hear, hear" Loki smiled back and didn't protest as Professor Banner took his bag as he lead him out of the airport and towards a parking lot.

With all of his baggage placed, the car started up and on its way on the road, Loki sank a bit more into the seat. It had been morning when he began travelling in England and it didn't seem like his body had caught up to the time difference as he started to suffer a little from jet-lag, it would probably be worse in the morning, the American one… or maybe the English one since that one was closer? Well this was confusing. Thankfully professor Banner broke Loki's awkward inner debate.

"When did you start to play the piano, Loki?"

"Oh, well I found the grand piano in my family home's basement when I was 6 and I started to play on it at once so…" Loki drawled.

"Really? It wasn't your mom or dad who forced you into lessons?" Banner said good-naturally, Loki frowned a bit none the less.

"No my… my parents didn't know I played the piano until I told them I would be studying here which is just a bit over a month ago"

Professor Banner glanced at him again, this time with a little questioning frown on his face.

"They didn't know? You kept it from them?"

"My parents are more praising of the 'modern arts'" Loki grumbled, but had to look up in surprise as the professor laughed.

"Oh wow, you'll fit right into the working environment then, so if they didn't teach you, who did?"

"Well, I did… I bought piano books and studied how to read notes and keys in the library after school"

"You learned everything by yourself?"

"Basically, and I listened to others play. CDs and the like"

"Loki, you haven't even had your first day yet and you already sound like a dream student" Banner said with fondness in his voice.

"Thank you professor Banner" it should have made him feel pathetic, but just that small amount of simple praise had his chest warming up enough to keep him warm through one of the more sour days in London.

"Please, call me Bruce, at least out of school setting"

"As you wish" Loki could not rid himself of the smile currently adorning his lips.

The school with its entire campus was actually fenced in and one had to pass through an electric gate to get in, privileges of being partly private school Bruce mused. There were four rather big buildings.

The one at the front had a concert hall and a cantina in it, behind it on the right side was the classical building where Loki would spend most of his time. Opposite of the classical arts building was the modern arts building, which Loki vowed to avoid. Behind the "Heart" as Bruce called it (the concert hall building)was a third building which was basically song and dance (and the occasional drama), the faction of the school who had to balance the most between the two mains (classical and modern, right).

Bruce led him to the classical building where the upper floor held rooms for students.

"Not that many rooms" Loki noted as they finally made it to the top of the stairs.

"Not that many students" Bruce retorted with a little smile.

"Also the main "student building" is actually the song and dance building, it has the fewest practice rooms as they have to co-operate with us so often, which means more space for student rooms. Then there are those students who live outside of campus." Bruce paused as he fished through his pockets in search for keys.

"Now, here is your key" He unlocked the door before giving Loki the key that had the room number imprinted onto it. Bruce opened the door and flicked on the lights. It was a decent sized room, and it had its own bathroom Loki noticed, feeling a bit relieved, and then he moved his head towards the windows that overlooked the campus park between all the buildings. He froze, his eyes wide.

"Is that…" he almost whispered.

"A piano just for you" Bruce smiled and walked over to it, setting Loki's bag down by the bed.

"That's what makes it a bit special to live in the classical arts building, the walls aren't completely soundproof but they dim the sound down to a pleasant hum even with intense playing. We want our students to be able to practice whenever they want and by making it possible for them to practice in their rooms we hope it will encourage them. So this is us spoiling those of you who got into this place on talent alone" Bruce winked.

"I… I don't know what to say" Loki could feel how his face was all smiles, but he really didn't mind.

"I'm glad to see that you like it, school hasn't started yet, won't start until next week so I suggest you use this week to integrate yourself into the system. There are already a few of our students on the grounds and more will come as the start of the semester draws closer. Don't hesitate to ask any of your fellow students or us professors. We've already began "hanging out" over at our offices in the Concert building, top floor"

Loki nodded enthusiastically.

"Breakfast start at 9 and last till 11 on weekends and holidays, otherwise its 7 till 8 with lunch at 12. Dinner is usually around 5 and 6 and lasts out till 7, half past 7. The cantina is almost always open though, with the difference that you have to pay for snacks, sandwiches and beverages besides coffee, tea and water outside the serving hours. You'll get into that soon enough though, all students do mystically enough" Bruce chuckled as he moved towards the door.

"On Monday and Friday the cleaning personnel will clean your room during lections, you can also leave laundry for them. If you need to do laundry yourself the washing machines are over at the dance/song building in the basement. And I think that sums up the basics, of course toilet paper and hand soap in the bathroom will be supplied by us, questions?"

"None so far" Loki shook his head, still all smiles.

"Make sure you come by my office tomorrow so I can hand you your study plan"

After getting an agreeing nod from his new student Bruce bid Loki farewell with a warm smile before letting himself out. Loki began exploring the rest of his room and bathroom. The bed was a bit wider than a standard single bed which meant it was also longer, that suited Loki well seeing as he was a bit on the tall side. Besides the piano by the windows the room had a wardrobe complete with drawers, two comfortable chairs and a low coffee table, two standing lights (one by the piano and one by the two chairs), a desk and chair, nightstand with drawers and a mini fridge that had some bottled water in it and some plastic cups. His bathroom had a shower, toilet, mirror, sink and small closets under and above the sink.

The next thing Loki did was get into the shower, after locking his door, eager to wash away the sweat and wear from travelling. After he was dried and dressed in his PJs (even if it was only 5 in the afternoon) he went over to the piano and sat down on the stool carefully. Some of the windows were open to let fresh air in, but it wasn't cold. The breeze that made its way into Loki's room was like a comfortable caress.

He opened the piano and let his fingers dance over the keys tryingly. The instrument responded with the softest of sounds. A smile crept forward yet again in Loki's face, this place felt as home already, even more so as his fingers danced further on the keys, willing them to play out a ballad he remembered from a movie.

**I have this very strong need to see art of this story verse…. Any one up for an art trade? ^^;**


	3. L: Thor's song

**I'll start including links of music whenever I use specific songs for Loki to play. Also, there are links to some awesome art at the end of the fic, hope you like this chapter guys!**

The change of time zones fucked up his internal clock so bad that he missed both breakfast and lunch. Loki sighed as he smiled to himself, he could always go to the cantina or wait for dinner. His eyes subconsciously moved towards the piano. He had been dreaming of England, of his family and his home. It wasn't that Loki really missed them or anything, not at all, he was in fact annoyed when he woke up. At the end of his dream that ridiculous cat screeching thing his brother had called "first awesome band song!" had played mercilessly till Loki actually forced himself awake from it.

Even now that stupid melody was stuck in his head, his smile died down and he slumped down by his piano, one hand paced idly at a couple of keys while occasionally press down. He hit a tune that synched perfectly with the infuriating melody that had gotten stuck. He glanced at the piano and pushed a few keys tryingly, instantly encouraged as he recognized the ongoing tune. He turned his full attention towards the piano, his piano, and placed both hands fully on the keys. Thor's song swiftly fading, replaced by the honeyed tunes from the piano, Loki grinned and ignored the occasional miss here and there. He had been right all along; any music could sound great it just depended a lot on who or what sang it.

He had no idea how much time had passed as he neared the finishing of writing down the notes on a blank music-sheet, refusing to let go of his creativity simply because of a working title he had just scribbled down "Thor's song" on the top of the sheet. Of course he had made adjustments so the music flowed better on the piano and so it didn't sound so horribly unfinished. He was startled by a sudden knock on his door. In his rush to get up he pushed the sheets down to the floor together with his pen and (thankfully empty) water bottle. He cursed quietly and then looked down at himself, he was still in pajamas pants…

"Uh, just a second!" He more or less hopped out of the PJ pants and found a pair of jeans he dragged on while trying to work his way over to the door. He zipped up the fly right before he unlocked and opened the door.

Red, short hair and sharp green eyes greeted him. A girl. Loki coughed in surprise and ran a hand through his bed hair, cursing himself for looking like a complete slob on his first day.

"You must be the new guy who came in last night" The girl said with an amused smile.

"Uh yes, that's right" Loki's voice was still a little ruff as he hadn't exactly used it since he got up.

"Oh you're English?" Her smile turned more genuine.

"Oh yes, ugh I'm terribly sorry for my poor manners, do come inside" He held the door open for her, finally years of training in proper mannerism kicking in.

"Why thank you" she nodded and walked in, Loki closed the door after her.

"Terribly sorry for the mess, I'm not done with unpacking you see" Loki picked up the few clothes that lay besides the bed and tossed them in the laundry basket, then nearly smacking himself as he realized that he just tossed his PJs in there as well. He dug them out and hid them under the duvet on his bed before the girl turned around to face him once more.

"Oh do not worry about that, I've seen much worse, believe me" She chuckled, she saw the sheet music on the floor and picked it up, looking it over.

"Thor's song? I'm not sure I've heard that one"

"Oh I'm certain you haven't, it was my… uh…adoptive brother's first try at a band song" The girl looked at him with a brow arched.

"You write your own sheet-music?"

"Occasionally" Loki shrugged.

"That, is very impressive" both of her brows were arched now, giving Loki time to actually take in her face, noticing how it seemed that not even one hair was astray.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?" he plastered on a pleasant smile.

"Oh it's Natasha, Natasha Romanoff. I was intrigued by your playing" Her smile turned a little sly.

"My…playing…?" Weren't these rooms supposed to be soundproof…his eyes trailed towards the windows. Right, open windows. Natasha followed his eyes and smiled.

"You play very well" She assured, still smiling. Loki had no words to answer with, no one besides the butler and maid at home had complimented his playing, sure Professor Banner had after seeing the video and his school had applauded him, but it felt immensely different when hearing it from someone your own age who he supposed knew about music.

"I…" He let out a somewhat startled sounding laugh. "Thank you" He finally found it to answer her smile sincerely.

"What, you never got complimented before?"

"Not from someone who knew what they were talking about, not counting professor Banner"

"Banner is your patron?" her eyes widened.

"Uh… yes?"

"He never takes someone under his wing, he hasn't been a patron for a student for years!"

"Oh I… I didn't know that" Loki replied with a slight flush to his cheeks, mostly from pride and happiness. To avoid further praise, he was afraid he'd downright blush (he wasn't used to this!), he quickly stuttered out a question to Natasha.

"So what do you study?"

"Oh, I'm in dance, ballet to be exact" She said, her enthusiasm dying somewhat.

"Really…?" Loki smiled, he had always admired the graceful ballerinas, he had even tried to stand on his toes as they did. He nearly broke his toes that day. Then he noticed her frown.

"You don't seem so pleased about that yourself?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Sure…?"

"I actually want to sing!" She said quietly as if it was a super-secret thing someone might kill her for saying. Loki blinked.

"Then…why don't you…?"

"Are you kidding? My parents back in Russia wants nothing more than to see me in the grand ballet in the winter palace, as the lead dancer. Dressed up in white and red with layers upon layers of makeup…" her frown deepened.

"Don't you enjoying dancing at all?"

"Of course I do…" she sighed and sat down in one of the chairs in the room.

"But the best would be song and dance, ballerinas don't sing"

"Well, why not?" Loki sat down in the chair next to her, she just gave him a look.

"What? Just because we do classical arts doesn't mean we can break a few norms and rules or two" Natasha arched an eyebrow before she smiled.

"You know what, Loki wasn't it? You are plenty alright, come on, belated lunch is on me today" She got up and looked down at him.

"You might want to put on socks though and your shirt the right way"

"…" Loki looked up at her and then at his bare feet before wriggling his toes slightly.

"Perhaps so indeed" he said with his best posh British accent, drawing a full laugh from Natasha.

He and Natasha got along wonderfully, after lunch she began showing him around campus. Well parts of campus, as a ballerina Natasha had very little to do with the modern arts building and was of the very common belief that they had no idea what they were doing.

"But you want to sing, isn't that counted amongst the modern arts unless you wish to do opera or choir?"

"No, no, don't misunderstand me. Listen, the thing is that the modern arts are experiencing an awful trend where all they do is scream and make noise…And voices get auto-tuned or get crushed underneath all kinds of extra effects, the serene and beautiful simplicity of a clear voice seems to be lost on them" She frowned. Loki nodded.

"Yeah, Thor back in England seemed to have been taken in by the same trend" He had told Natasha of his foster family.

"But wasn't it his song you re-made on the piano?"

"Yes…?"

"That didn't sound awful at all" She pushed open the door to the biggest concert hall.

"Maybe that just means there is still hope for modern music" Loki chuckled as he let himself be lead towards the stage.

"Perhaps, this is where the best play and preform by the way. The great Heart, I danced here last year preforming the cliché of clichés" She snorted.

"Swan lake?"

"Swan lake" She chuckled as she stepped onto the stage, Loki following close behind.

"Oh hey look, the piano's still out" She let her hand glide over the keys without pressing down. Green eyes, just a tad duller color than his own, looked over at him mischievously.

"Want to impress me?"

"Not really no" He smiled sheepishly at her.

"Well I want to hear so come on"

"Are you sure it is alright?"

"No one is hear and I'm sure you won't break it" She pushed him down onto the stool.

"Well what does the dancer want to hear?"

"Something British?" She grinned and then laughed at the look he sent her.

"Alright then, how about you make some modern sound incredible like before?"

"I'll just go with Harry Potter as I feel strangely patriotic" Natasha just scoffed as a reply, but made no further comment as Loki's slender fingers met the keys gently starting the Harry Potter theme softly. He had loved this piece ever since he saw the first movie with his mother one day Odin had taken his other son to a football match or something equally pointless.

Magic and mystery was probably Loki's second favorite thing, right after the piano. He increased the speed and intensity, taking the "impossible version" of the theme as it was the one he loved the most. He had no time to notice how Natasha's eyes widened in astonishment as Loki's fingers danced fanatically over the tangents. He forgot all about his audience and did a sudden swap in tunes and started on Pirates of the Caribbean theme in the same manner he had done the Harry Potter theme. Figuring out how to play theme songs from his favorite movie had probably been one of his best pass-times when he became a teen. He finally remembered Natasha and glanced up at her and smiled at her, letting his fingers find the keys that would take him to the grand finally. He let the last, heavy tunes ring dramatically in the air before he lifted his hands off the piano and stood.

"Okay, yeah, impressed" Natasha said a smile widening over her features.

Clapping from the middle of the hall made them both snap their heads in the direction of the sound.

"Principal Fury?" Natasha arched one of her elegant brows. Loki swallowed nervously.

"Very impressive Mr. Odinson" Loki cringed slightly at the name, but willing it away so it didn't show too much.

"Thank you sir." He replied politely.

"I'm glad to see that Banner was right about you, keep up the good work"

"I'll try sir" It was about then Loki lifted his eyes a bit further and noticed professor Banner standing next to another man, tall and blonde. His patron wore a smile that beamed nothing but pride, to his surprise Loki felt his eyes water up slightly as he smiled back at the man.

"Good, and while we're at it, I have a proposition for you" Fury continued.

**Awesome peach-of-crazyness from Deaviantart drew from both chapter 1 and 2, THANK YOU DEAR! It is truly remarkable to see ones stories come to life like only you artists can do!**

**Here's Peach-of-crazyness pic from ch. 1**

sol-angel .deviantart #/d5bf8tp

**And here's from ch 2. (Really dear, any request you might have is yours! But you may need to remind me in a note or PM)**

sol-angel .deviantart #/d5bf903

**Here are the pieces Loki played at the end by the way. (without spaces of course)**

www .youtube watch?v=u-rLrMGBUv4&feature=relmfu

www. youtube watch?v=NzGgX1DihPw&feature=relmfu


	4. L: Nocturne

**Disclaimer: I Own nothing and am not making money on any of this. For fans by fans I suppose applies here :-) **

«I'm not sure about this Natasha…I'm a musician not a-"

"Dancer…?" Natasha's grin was mischievous.

"Yeah…"

"Any guy should learn to dance my friend, you'd be surprised how easy the ladies are to woo if you have the right moves"

"I've never danced before"

"Not even 'dry humped'?"

"Certainly not" Loki scowled at her

"Good, whoever named that dancing should be shot" Natasha's grin widened. She picked up his hands and placed them on her hips. He sighed, only a couple of days at this place and he was being roped into "weird activities".

"Now, in rumba it is all about the sway in your hips, they need to move freely if you get what I mean?"

Loki snorted as a reply.

"Good, you got the steps so all that is left is really "the sway", now I'm going to put on a bit more modern music, don't give me that look, it's a good song, and you try to sway with the music and me with the steps you already know. Got it?"

Loki sighed again, but nodded anyway, glancing around the room they had been in for what felt like the last couple of days. The mirrors surrounding the room had disheartened him somewhat in the beginning, now he mostly ignored them. Natasha hit play on the CD player and the intro began playing up.

The song was very catchy and filled with rhythms Loki had never familiarized himself with and when Natasha began moving it coaxed and compelled Loki to move with her.

"Don't fret about the form, let go a bit" Natasha smiled and winked at him, her hips moving smoothly under Loki's hands.

"Don't be such a stuck up Brit" She teased and Loki finally took up her challenge, eager to prove himself. Rumba was indeed a rather large step for Loki, seeing as he had never danced before and rumba was such a… sensual dance, at least the one Natasha was teaching him was sensual. He stopped trying to mirror her swaying and just went with his own, following the music while keeping half a mind on the technical steps.

"Having fun yet?" She asked as she did a turn, he roped her back again, holding her close for a second, his hand sliding down a little while her hands were placed on his chest.

"Maybe" He smirked and turned her so she had her back against him and they managed to actually sway in a somewhat synch. She fawned herself with a slight grin. Oh yes, this was fun and Loki would even admit it at some point.

"Well don't you two look lovely?" A voice said from the doorway, making both of them halt and turn towards the voice. Natasha reached out and hit pause on the CD player.

"What do you want Barton?" how she had such a stone-hard control on her voice Loki would probably never know.

"Well I had to check out who my ex was dancing so passionately with"

"You still have Tony gathering gossip for you, isn't that beneath you Clint?" She still had her hand on Loki's hip and her hand in his. He let it go though, straightening up next to her. The way this Clint dressed Loki enough, worn-looking jeans and a leather-jacket over an almost gloating band-shirt. Definitely a modern-arts student, Loki would have rolled his eyes.

"Okay so maybe I just wanted to check out the new guy, they say he plays piano very well. That true Tasha?"

"Why don't you actually attend the opening concert and find out?" She arched a perfect brow.

"I'll think about it" Barton smirked and turned to leave.

"Oh and he dances much better than you Clint" Natasha waved at his back that froze for a second, Loki couldn't make out what his grumble was about, but he doubted it was something he really needed to know. He exchanged a look with Natasha before they both burst out laughing.

Loki locked himself into his room, shrugging off his jacket before he closed the door. He dropped down onto his bed with an exhausted sigh; oh he was really going to feel all that swaying in the morning. His hips already felt sore, Natasha' could be a mean slave driver.

Clint Barton didn't impress him at all, he had dealt with worse brutes. Loki paused and looked over at his phone and picked it up.

1 new message…

He opened it.

"Could you call today…? I miss your voice brother." Loki frowned as he read it, what was up with Thor. Every day he would send at least one message, asking how Loki was doing. Most of the time Loki replied with a short: "I'm fine" or "Yes, say hi to Frigga for me". He had never gotten such a message before though. His eyes glanced to the corner of the screen, it would be evening there now… wait, what? He was just getting rid of Thor, why should he still follow that man's every whim? Loki huffed and dropped his phone over at the night stand again, crossing his arms across his chest.

It was then he felt something soft brush past his leg, he startled so badly he rolled right out of bed and landed flat on the floor. He groaned before he sat up abruptly, looking with wide eyes over at the bed.

A small ball of black fluff stared back at him with gleaming green eyes.

"What…?" Loki asked somewhat dumbfounded. The ball of fluff mewed at him.

"How did you get in here little guy?" Loki got up from the floor, feeling ridiculous hiding from a little cat like that. He sat down cautiously on the bed. The cat didn't move away, now that Loki got a better look at him though it looked more like a kitten than a cat. He reached out carefully and slid one finger through the silken fur. The kitten instantly began purring.

"Huh…" Loki said just to fill the silence with something else than purring.

"You can't be on your own, someone must own you…" almost as of cue there was a knock on his door. He got up from the bed, the kitten making a noise that sounded very close to annoyance of being left.

Upon opening the door Loki was met with a tall, broad chested, blonde man at for a brief panicked moment he thought it was Thor until his brain told him that was utterly ridiculous as the man didn't look like Thor at all.

"Hi, Steven Rogers" The guy held his hand out, Loki accepted it and shook it.

"Loki Odinson" He replied politely.

"I know this will sound weird, but have you seen a black kitten running about"

"You mean that one?" Loki pointed in the kitten's general direction on his bed with his thumb. Steven looked over Loki's shoulder and sighed in relief.

"Oh good I was afraid we'd lost him, you know?"

"He's your cat then?"

"Oh no, no I took in a stray some months back and that stray recently had kittens. Been trying to find them homes you know, I can barely keep track of the mother as she is pretty high maintenance, you know, very lady-like" Steve chuckled.

"Oh I know a thing or two about such ladies" Loki said with a slight smile, this Steven Rogers was an agreeable enough fellow.

"Right, I'll just take her off your hands then"

"Of course" Loki let the door stay open as he walked back to his bed and picked the kitten up. She warmed his hands pleasantly and started purring again, wriggling about almost as if she was cuddling up to his chest. Loki stopped and looked down at the little ball of fluff.

"…what?" Steve arched both brows as Loki just looked up at him with big eyes.

"… Can I keep her?"

Nocturne tripped around him as he lay on his back in the bed, holding his phone up in front of him. She climbed onto his chest and curled up there, a satisfied purr emitting from her lite form.

It would be late in England by now… Loki stared at Thor's message, running his fingers absentmindedly through Nocturne's fur. He raised his head somewhat and met a couple of emerald orbs.

"What do you think…?"

"Mew…!"

"I know, but I'm supposed to be independent now"

"Purr…"

"I guess you're right…" He scratched her under her chin carefully, smiling at the pleased look she put forth. He looked back at his phone and pressed the call symbol before he placed the phone close to his ear.

Who was he kidding, it was way too late over there right now and Thor slept like the dead there was no way he-

"Loki…?!"

Loki bolted up into a sitting position, Nocturne falling off with a displeased hiss at the stupid human.

"Loki, are you there?" What was that tune within Thor's voice?

"Sorry it's late"

A sigh of relief sounded on the other end of the line.

"I really do not mind, god it's good to hear from you again Loki" Thor knew Loki didn't really see them as brothers anymore and he had slowly accepted that it seemed.

"You message me every day" Loki lied back down, but Nocturne still glared at him in distrust.

"Yes but your replies don't exactly carry your voice" Thor chuckled, there was a pause between them.

"England is boring without you Loki" Thor said somewhat quietly. Loki scoffed.

"I haven't even been gone for a month Thor" and we never really did anything together anyway, Loki added quietly in his mind suddenly feeling a slight lump forming in his throat.

"It is still very quiet here"

"Are you saying I was noisy…?" Loki retorted immediately.

"No, no! Not at all, but you always had something to talk about during dinner or… well always really" Thor chuckled and then paused again "I miss that" he added. Loki had no reply, a few things went through his mind but they sounded silly…then again Thor was pretty silly very often.

"Well I'm doing pretty fine without your overly loud voice day out and day in" Loki replied in his usual manner, Thor didn't reply.

"Though I suppose I miss how you could help me reach the books that were the highest up" that coaxed a short bark of laugh from Thor and Loki found himself smile despite himself.

"So what have you been up to over in the states, Loki?"

"Well I've gotten this little black ball off fluff that I've named Nocturnal…" The smile widened as mentioned ball of fluff finally decided to relocate to her former spot, trusting Loki to lie still again.

**Introducing nocturnal because the images of "Lokitty" is too cute. Obviously, what with being a cat, she won't play a big part but only serve as companion for our dear boy Loki. As mentioned in the story Mystery Man, Synthesia now has pairings, but I don't have space for them in the summary.**

**Pairings:**

**Loki x Thor**

**Clint x Bruce**

**Tony x Steve**

**If you have a problem with this I advice you to stop reading or just skip those parts (I will post warnings, rest assured)**


	5. L: Team effort

**peach-of-crazyness from deviantart drew this: peach-of-crazyness .deviantart #/d5c69t1 from chapter 3. Thank you so much sweetie! **

The beginning of the semester came faster than Loki would have anticipated, it seemed like Bruce just came to his room one morning.

"I hope you've practiced that piece Loki" He smiled and winked, Bruce knew his student had practiced the piece. Whenever he had stepped outside he had heard the lovely tunes that were streaming out from Loki's window.

Now the fresh student had about a week to get familiar with the classical arts orchestra and preform the opening piece at the opening concert. Principal Fury had put quite the weight on such a new student's shoulders.

Bruce led Loki to the main concert hall himself, giving Loki small details that would hopefully calm the young man's nerves.

"We haven't had many skilled piano students in a long time, so one of the teachers was going to try their hand in aiding the orchestra. I and Fury both believe this will be much better though, the orchestra already know the piece so all you have to do is to synchronize."

"It'll be interesting; I've never worked with a conductor before…"

"You'll do fine, no, you'll do great Loki" Bruce smiled reassuringly at him before opening the doors. The orchestra music that had been playing stopped instantly and all eyes were turned at Loki who swallowed. He had never performed anything in front of so many people… and during the actual performance they claimed the entire hall would be filled… It was a huge hall…

"Come now, we'll start with simple introductions" Bruce urged him forward.

Loki didn't remember half of the names that had been given to him as he sat in front of the piano. They were friendly enough, but didn't seem thrilled to have a newbie on the team. The conductor was a senior student that went by the name Mr. Fantastic, though his real name was Reed Richards. A musical genius with a future in the bigger part of music industry, he was apparently so good because he could lose himself in the music. The only downside was him spacing out and forgetting those around him.

He smiled reassuringly at Loki who kept his eyes stiffly on said man.

He did that slight flick of the wrist that meant that Loki should start, Loki started but Reed's next movements confused him as that usually meant go faster…though the piece wasn't supposed to go that fast. Loki kept his fingers dancing though, but it felt awkward and haltingly as he had to pay constant attention to Reed who was getting a deeper frown by each tune.

When Reed suddenly turned to the orchestra to have them start Loki fell back into the past rhythm of the song, something that completely clashed with the orchestra. Reed signalized a halt, Loki felt like the entire orchestra rolled their eyes at him simultaneously.

"Let's take it from the top" Reed said, Loki sank down a bit and opened his mouth as if to speak. He shut it quickly upon noticing eyes turning to him again, his gaze moved to the piano quickly. He placed his fingers stiffly on the tangents and looked up at Reed again.

After the fifth try Loki's patience was wearing thin and with it when his shyness as well. Reed sighed as he halted the orchestra again.

"Is there something specific you can't handle Loki?" He turned towards the pianist.

"Yes, you are pacing it too fast" Loki bit him off, Reed's eyes widened.

"Are you sure you're not just saying that, freshman?" Someone within the orchestra called out. Had Loki been Nocturnal he would have hissed.

"Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 is not supposed to go that fast, no matter how "fancy" that might sound" Loki retorted with venom hidden behind every word.

"The concerto isn't a snail pace" Reed argued.

"I didn't say it was, but it isn't a bloody polka either" Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Let's hear it then, how would you play it?" Reed threw his hands up in the air. Loki clenched his jaw and snapped his attention towards the piano.

Despite his anger at the moment, he began with the softest, yet deepest of sounds. Building the intensity was no problem, especially in his current state where each hard push of the tangents felt like a physical outlet. He kept his eyes firmly on his own fingers as they ran over the black and white of the piano. That Reed began flicking his wrist towards the orchestra went completely unnoticed, he was completely absorbed in his anger, his need to prove himself and his music.

Bruce leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees as a smile spread over his features.

When Loki finally reached one of the calmer parts of the song, he finally noticed the strings that answered his piano's call. His attention snapped up to Reed and the orchestra, his fingers still finding the tangents with a precise aim. Reed was following him, could conductors even do that?

A slightly apologetic smile passed over Reeds features as he waved his hand at the violins, Loki simply nodded and turned back to his piano.

When they finished, only slightly out of balance Bruce stood up and applauded them

Reed joined him at lunch that day, talking about how he hadn't practiced with a pianist student since his own freshman year.

"It's just been so long you know, I forgot that the piano often is the song in or rather, the voice, in a concerto such as that. "

"Voice and background" Loki supplied.

"Exactly, the teacher that was originally going to play just let me run the entire pace. Ugh I almost feel ashamed for forgetting so much about the piano concerts. Forgive me?"

"Hey you bought me lunch, you're already forgiven"

Reed laughed.

"With just a bit more tuning this will be one of my better pieces in a long time. And it will really show that the classical arts aren't dead just yet!" Reed smirked as he glanced over to another of the tables where the guy Loki recognized as Clint Barton sat amongst someone Loki assumed was the man's friends. One of them was the notorious Tony Stark Natasha had told him quite a bit about.

"With a show such as that people might be interested in us again" Reed continued enthusiastically.

"Oh I don't think they ever lost interest" Loki met Barton's gaze for the briefest of moments and narrowed his eyes slightly before turning his attention back at Reed.

"People just need to be reminded every now and then. Our voice never died, it was just hidden underneath the mechanical noise of our modern time"

"Hear, hear!" Some of the violinist from the orchestra joined them at their table.

"Well said my dear pianist" Reed raised his mug of coffee as if he was offering Loki a toast to his honor.

The crowd sat in stunned silence as Loki and the orchestra played intensely upon the stage, completely drowning the impression from the previous band performance. Loki felt like he was dancing back and forth on the piano as the violins complimented the up and downs from his tunes. He cast a quick glanced, when he had one of the short pauses, at Natasha who held both thumbs up and grinned widely at him. He replied with a smile of his own before he bowed down towards the piano again.

They ended it in the same manner they had started it, give or take a few notches on the intensity scale. The hall fell into complete silence as the last of the tunes from the concerto died out. Loki was breathing heavily from the performance, too nervous to even glance at the public.

"Bravo!" Natasha's voice rung out over the crowd as the red head rose to her feet and clapped. That was all it took for the entire hall to break out in deafening applause, high pitched whistles and calls.

"Bravo, Bravo…!" The crowd cheered. Loki looked at Reed who seemed to be all smiles as he nodded at Loki. The pianist stood with the rest of the orchestra, bowing and smiling. That was all Loki would remember from the official opening concert of his new school. Bowing and smiling in front of a crowd that roared with praise. Bowing and smiling.

**The concerto if anyone is interested:**

** www. youtube watch?v=M_VCbnqbwwA**


	6. Thor: Our mother

**Time to change point of views as I said I would.**

«Mother, mother come quick…! » Thor nearly bounced in his seat.

"What is it Thor?" Frigga asked patiently as she walked up to her eldest son. The normally graceful and elegant woman looked weary and sad; everyone knew it was because she had yet to really hear from her adopted son. She had tried to call a few times but her little darling never answered. She guessed she just had to wait for Loki to pick up the contact; it was a hard thing to swallow.

"Look what I found on YouTube, it's Loki!" Thor enthused; Frigga looked up quickly and moved over to her son's side swiftly.

Thor hit play, the movie was dark and little out of focus, the camera also wasn't held very steadily, but the sound had surprisingly good quality. It was without a doubt Loki Odinson who sat in front of the piano and started up with soft yet dark tunes, shortly followed by the orchestra.

Frigga didn't notice that she had placed her hand in front of her mouth before she felt warm tears trail down from her eyes and onto her hand.

"Look at him mother, isn't he magnificent?" Thor's eyes seemed glued to the screen.

"Yes…" Frigga choked out.

"Mother…?" Upon hearing the strain in his mother's voice Thor turned his attention towards her. He rose quickly when he saw her tears.

"Mother, are you alright?" He touched her shoulder gently, a sob escaped Frigga.

"My little boy, for all these years he learned to play and I didn't even notice his talent" She was hiccupping from the strain of trying to keep her tears back, only made more difficult by Loki's playing that sounded in the background.

"Mother, none of us knew" Thor embraced his mother carefully, rubbing her back.

"But I should have! Oh my little boy, no wonder he doesn't wish to speak to us"

Thor was just about to open his mouth and tell his mother about the unexpected phone call a few weeks ago, but decided against it. Frigga sniffled and dried some of her tears away with the back of her hand, looking back at the screen as the image cleared somewhat showing Loki completely focused at the task at hand. His hands moved so easily on the piano it looked like he was caressing it.

"Oh I want to talk to him" Frigga whispered, lowering her head to Thor's shoulder once more. "I want to talk to him…!"

Thor could feel his mother's tears soak through his shirt as he tried to comfort her as best as he could. This was not the reaction he had hoped for upon stumbling over the video on the internet. Loki's playing softened in the background till it died completely, a few moments of silence before the video gave a roaring applause, whoever was filming turned his or hers camera off and the room became completely quiet save Frigga's quiet sobs.

That night Thor stared at his phone, what if his brother didn't answer like all those times before? The blonde moved his gaze over at the door. Dinner had been strained, so much that Thor had actually excused himself before he was done. Something Thor really never did unless it was something special or something was bothering him. His mother's sadness was bothering him and his father seemed to make no inquiry about the matter.

He clenched his jaw and tapped the icon of his brother, the screen lit up with the calling display and he placed it against his ear. His stomach along with his hopes dropped a bit for each beep. He was about to hit the cancel button when the familiar humming sound of the phone being answered sounded, but it was not his brother's voice that met him, instead a cascade of piano music filled his ear.

"Loki…?" The piano music did not cease, but then Thor managed to hear something in the midst of the piano playing.

"Mew...!" Thor moved the phone so he could look at it in bewilderment, did his phone just mew at him?

"Loki, are you there?" He tried again and once again a mew was all the answer he got, then there was the sound of movement and… was that yowling? The piano suddenly halted and in the distant Thor thought he could make out his brother's voice. More yowling and mewing before the sound of movement came again.

"Mew…!" Thor chuckled, if that was what he thought it was, Loki had a very awesome cat. The phone was picked up.

"Thor…?"

"Loki…! Br- Loki it's good to hear your voice again. Was it your cat who answered the phone?" Loki gave a startled laughed.

"Yes it would seem so"

"Then it is a very intelligent cat" Thor couldn't help the wide smile that made it onto his features, he loved Loki's voice and even more so his laugh.

"Would you expect anything less dear Thor?" Loki replied with a chuckle.

"That aside" Thor made his voice serious "I call with a purpose in mind this time, Loki"

"Do tell…?"

"It is mother…she misses you dearly and wishes to speak with you" Thor said carefully and felt his nerves acting up as Loki used a lot of time before actually replying.

"I don't-"

"Loki listen, I saw your opening concert" Thor cut the other off.

"Y-you did?"

"Yes and I showed mother, Loki please, you might not see mother as your own mother but she definitely sees you as her son. She was heartbroken that she hadn't noticed your wonderful talent before, she feels like the worst mother in the world right now and father is doing nothing to console her" Thor only had half an idea of what he was saying, he was trying to say so much in as little time as possible and he had never been good with words. He wasn't Loki and didn't have his talent.

"Thor-"

"She only wishes to talk to you, she too misses your voice. It is dreadfully empty here without you"

"Thor-"

"Especially for mother, she always loved spending time with you. Now she just stays inside and occasionally goes out to one or two of the meetings she usually attended so dutifully"

"Thor…!"

"…Yes Loki?"

"Give mother the phone…"

Thor grinned from ear to ear as he leapt from his room. He knocked on his parents' bedroom door vigorously.

"Yes Thor, come in" his mother replied, Thor opened the door to reveal his mother dressed in her night gown, he held out the phone to her with a bright smile. Frigga looked confused at first then her eyes widened as she looked down at the phone, she reached out for it with a hand that only shook a little bit. She pressed it tightly against her ear.

"H-hello…?" Her face broke out into a teary smile as Loki replied; she sank down to the bed, cradling the phone close to her ear.

"Oh sweetie, sweetie it's so good to hear from you again"

His mother might be crying, but she was happy. Thor discreetly wiped the moisture from his own eyes away.

Frigga and her adoptive son spoke for hours, until Odin came into the bedroom and it was far beyond their normal bedtime.

"Please let me hear from you again soon Loki, alright? Thank you, bye love" Frigga handed Thor his phone back and bid her son good night after giving him a warm embrace. Upon entering the hallway Thor looked down at his phone and saw that the call was still connected.

"Loki…?"

"Thor, I was thinking well… you see I'm not coming home for Christmas but I didn't have the heart to tell mother"

"You're not-"

"No, but I was thinking you three, or maybe just you and mother could come and see the Christmas concert right before the holidays? It would only be a weekend and it is right after Christmas eve. We never did anything on the weekend after Christmas eve."

"Come and here you play for real?" Thor asked a smile growing on his features.

"Well… yes I-"

"We'd love to! I'll ask them both in the morning" Thor promised and was rewarded with a small chuckle from his brother.

"Good night Thor"

"Good night Loki" Thor suddenly had that lump in his throat again as Loki hung up. He went back to his room and lay down in his bed. He felt far too excited to get any sleep, or so he thought before he turned onto his side and went out like a light. In the morning Thor didn't mind at all, seeing as he had spent the night dreaming of his brother in front of the orchestra playing the most amazing piano piece ever.


	7. Thor: The older Brother

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters and I earn no money on this what-so-ever**

Thor actually called his friends and canceled that day's practice and any other activity he and his friends might have planned. Sif was the most difficult to get away from.

"Thor you promised you'd make it today!"

"I know Sif, I'm sorry"

"Seriously, I know you said you didn't want a girlfriend who would smother you, but I thought we would at least spend a LITTLE time together"

"We have"

"Once in a blue moon and it's always at practice" Thor could hear how Sif was sneering and shifted a bit in discomfort.

"And now you're not even coming to practice" She continued in the same manner.

"Look I can explain…"

"You bet you will, I'll be at your place after dinner, no excuses"

"Wait Sif, no I-"

"Don't 'Sif, no' me, if you want to explain I want you to be man enough to do it to my face, I might just forgive you then"

"I… yes of course. I apologize Sif"

"Good, I'll be there around 6"

"See you then…" Sif hung up and Thor felt a bit of dread and worry pool and moved about in his stomach. There was just something about Sif he couldn't put his finger on. He had problems facing her and he had no idea when it begun. It had been so sudden, Sif just didn't…He didn't know, cut it? She was by far the best girlfriend Thor had ever had. She respected his wishes for space, was his equal when it came to sparring or wrestling, played the guitar viciously and was by no means afraid to be "one of the boys" should she wish for it. His friends liked her and had integrated her into their little gang fully. Hell Sif was probably the only one who had managed to get along somewhat with Loki…

A thought struck Thor, he wondered if Sif had known about Loki's talent… If she had… A sudden anger overcame Thor, why would his brother confine in Sif when he would avoid Thor!? No, no he couldn't just jump the gun like that. He would ask and THEN he'd be upset.

He scoffed to himself and got up.

His parents were already seated by the breakfast table when he got down. His father sent him a stern look.

"My apologies, I had to make some morning calls" Thor said as he sat down. He glanced over at his mother who was practically beaming; Thor had to smile upon seeing it.

"Did you and Loki talk some more after you went back to your room? I thought I heard talking" Frigga smiled sweetly at her son.

"Ah yes, said good night and what not" He reached for a piece of bread.

Frigga nodded enthusiastically before she sipped her tea.

"Also…" Thor paused as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "He had some news to share that he had forgotten to tell you about, mother" It was probably best to just hop into it, Thor thought.

"Oh…?" Thor had no idea how, but it seemed like his mother could sense it was something she might not like as her smile faltered somewhat.

"Ah yes, it seems Loki won't be able to make it home for Christmas" The change was sudden and heartbreaking. Frigga's smile tugged downwards and her lower lip actually trembled as the light in her eyes dimmed somewhat replaced by oncoming tears.

"And why is that?" Odin's voice asked calmly.

"Oh, ah, he's been giving an important part to play in the Christmas concert and he simply couldn't tell them no" Thor hoped and prayed to whatever was listening that he was at least speaking half-truth.

"I see"

Frigga just lowered her head, her entire being screaming of the disappointment she felt.

"But he asked me to ask you if you would be interested in spending a weekend with him over there, come to the concert" Thor quickly added and relaxed somewhat as his mother's head snapped up with a glimmer of hope in her face.

"And when is this?" Odin leant a little forward as he lifted his own cup of tea.

"Oh the weekend after Christmas eve, we never do anything then anyways, other than preparing for the new year" Frigga's face fell.

"What? We don't, do we?" Thor looked over at his father who had closed his eyes.

"This year we do… we've been invited to your brother Baldur's new estate this year" Baldur, the actual eldest in the Odinson family. So much older in fact that Thor and Loki hadn't grown up with him and seldom referred to him as "brother". He worked abroad most of the time, taking care of a great deal of Odin's foreign affairs. Now he was settling in England to take care of a portion of Odin's business empire.

Thor rose from his seat suddenly, meeting his father's eyes with a defiant stare.

"Well I'm going to see Loki anyways!" he boomed and marched from the dining room.

No one had tried to talk to him about that morning's happenings, but Thor had no doubt it would happen. He had decided though, he would go and see Loki play when Christmas came. Maybe he'd even slip away before and spend the entire Christmas with him? He could sleep on the floor in Loki's room. He glanced up at the clock, it was nearing six. Not wanting to have Sif suffer through the heavy atmosphere in the house, Thor put on some warmer clothes and slipped out of the house with a short explanation to the maid who was cleaning dishes in the kitchen.

He nearly collided into Sif as he rounded a corner on his way to her house.

"Thor…! I thought I said I would be at your place at six?" Her eyes narrowed somewhat suspiciously.

"I know, I came to meet you half-way, it's strained at home at the moment" He explained as her brow arched somewhat. She accepted the explanation and the couple made their way over to the nearby park.

"Thor, what's going on? You've been distant lately, even whit the band and that isn't like you" Sif stressed as they sat down on a mostly dry bench.

"I miss my brother…" Thor said quietly.

"Yes I can understand that, but it's almost been months Thor. You can't let it bug you this much for so long. He's not gone, just away for a bit"

"No you don't understand, my brother must have held his talent secret for ages! Why didn't he tell me?" Thor paused and remembered one of his thoughts from that morning. "Did you know?" He added as an afterthought.

"He never said anything if that's what you mean, but it didn't really come as a surprise. I know few his age that love classical so much and don't play a classical instrument themselves." Sif reasoned. Thor nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"But do you mean that your brother's absence is the reason to you distant behavior? Even to me?"

"I…just became keenly aware how much he filled my life when he was gone"

"No Thor, that's just a natural feeling when someone leaves. He wasn't that involved in your life. You two barley spoke at best. He was always distant and-"Sif shut her mouth quickly upon seeing the glare she was receiving from Thor who got up abruptly.

"You know NOTHING of my relationship with Loki, he was always there for me! Sometimes with snide remarks, other times with witty comments. He might not have been talking to me, but his voice was always there. A soft murmur in the background. Now it's gone and my house feels empty, at night I have problems sleeping because I know he's not breathing softly in the room next to mine. The study is naked because his familiar silhouette is nowhere to be seen and mother seems lonely and both father and I realize how little time we actually spend with her. I miss those green eyes, that crooked smiled, pale skin and raven black hair so much I think it's driving me mad half of the time" Thor was almost heaving for breath as he finished his rant, Sif just stared at him.

"You…" She said slowly after a long pause where they had just stared at each other.

"You sound like you're in love with him?" Sif sounded like she couldn't believe her own words and Thor felt his face heat up to the unbearable.

"Shut up! You know nothing!" Thor bellowed and turned on his heel and stomped away angrily, but in his chest his heart was beating wildly and he had no idea _why_.

**Taking a slow dive into one of the pairings here and introducing Baldur. In Norse mythology Baldur is the younger son of Odin and Frigga (who surprisingly have very little children together as a couple( BUT VERY many outside marriage, Odin is one of the worst "whores" in Asgard, followed only by Freya and Loki, according to legend that is. Frigga has some kids outta marriage as a revenge on Odin x) ))**

**Here though Baldur is the older and Loki is (mythology canon) jealous of him for being able to hog so much attention from Frigga and Odin (BOTH parents, no not possible, right?) **

**Needless to say I will start to delve into Thor's music, so I ask you, should I post music I use as reference for him as well? Seeing as he plays "modern" music with both male and female vocalists I don't want to force it down your throats as we all have our preferences when it comes to modern music ^^; (classic to I suppose, but to me a good piano piece is a good piano piece no matter who composed the piece)**


	8. L: My family

Loki managed to settle in quite nicely into the school after being part of his very first concert. He became the center of attention in the classical arts group and seemed like everyone wanted to know him, quite the change for someone who had always trotted in the shadow of someone else and _his_ friends.

His first, and by now best, friend was Natasha. She would come and drag him out of his room when she meant that he had played enough piano for a while and take him to the cantina or the common room over at the D&D building (Dance and drama).

"I don't get it" Loki slurred one evening as Natasha had managed to get him to drink a little (it was Saturday and on Saturday alcohol was allowed in the common rooms or in the cantina, in reasonable dosage of course).

"You hardly do any drama in here, you sing and dance" Loki continued as he gulped down the last drop of his drink.

"Look around Loki, mostly girls, plenty of drama here" Natasha giggled.

That night Loki had ended up in Natasha's bed, snoring away as Natasha curled up to him in only her shirt and boxers (that she had stolen from Clint apparently).

Waking up the next morning was weird; with a half-naked Natasha sprawled all over him. He looked down at her very exposed breasts and narrowed his eyes at the haze in his head.

"Ugh I must be gay" He groaned and slumped back, making Natasha mutter and snuggle closer.

"Hm…?" Loki opened his eyes again.

"I said, what did you say?" Natasha more or less yawned.

"I do not find your exposed breasts desirable" Loki replied in the same slow, lazy manner

"You're gay"  
"probably"

Natasha just smacked her lips and nuzzled into his chest. They were rudely awoken by Natasha's roommate Darcy who had just exited the bathroom.

"OH MY GOD, is that Loki?!" She clutched the towel closer to her chest. Natasha reared her head and looked at the girl, well, more like squinted.

"It's okay Darce, he's gay" she slurred before lying back down. Loki just snorted.

"Do you two even know what you're saying right now?"

"No" came the unison reply, Darcy just rolled her eyes, gathered her clothes and went back into the bathroom.

Darcy would never let either of them live it down afterwards though, secretly Loki didn't mind much. He was silently happy that he had someone he could groan with about another friend that tried to embarrass them with things they had done when not entirely sober.

Loki spent most of his "school hours" or sessions with Bruce and he loved those sessions. Bruce listened to him, evaluated him and challenged him in ways that made him feel that his talent was truly appreciated and growing.

Bruce demanded things of, expected things and Loki simply loved it. Sometimes Loki would bring complicated pieces and just lay them in front of Bruce.

"Teach me"

Bruce would look up at him with an arched brow.

"Please?"

Then Bruce would smile and gesture towards the piano. At one point Bruce introduced Loki to a skilled violinist by the name Sue Storm and the concept of piano/violin duet. By the time they had finished perfecting their Beethoven piece Loki found himself with even more friends. He would greet people in the hallway, people would call him over to their tables in the cantina, he's been asked to join in fun and people would randomly "glomp" him when they came behind him.

He still had "people-I-detest", but he wasn't alone anymore. If modern-arts students tried to pick on him classical-arts students seemed to materialize from thin air and defend him and _their common _honor. It was liked being brought into a huge, loving family that respected, cherished and understood each other.

The thought made Loki smile every single time.

"You'll get the hang of it soon enough, you always do Loki" Natasha sat in one of his chairs and read in her "art of listening"-book while listening to Loki try and learn "Death waltz".

"Yeah no I think I need another pair of hands" Loki groaned. He started up the chaotic piece again; he got through the start before Nocturne decided to crash down on the tangents.

"Agh Nocturne! Bad kitty" Loki groaned as Nocturne strutted over the tangents before hopping off. Natasha laughed heartily.

"You DID ask for a second pair of hands"

"Yes, second PAIR of HANDS, not four paws"

"Well it's getting late anyway, she's probably asking you to sleep" for emphasis Natasha yawned and stretched her arms outwards.

"I suppose" Loki wiggled his fingers, finally feeling how stiff they felt.

"See you tomorrow in listening?"

"Of course, who dares miss Mr. Coulson's class?"

"Modern-art students…?"

"Because they are, TADA, modern" Natasha rolled her eyes before getting up walking over to give Loki a peck on the cheek.

"Good night my pianist"

"Good night my little ballerina" Loki grinned and waved at her as she closed the door behind her. He looked back at the piano and put his hands down tryingly, but decided against it and got up.

It was morning now over in England… he supposed he could call Thor and tell him how he was doing… since he was still asking about that occasionally. Loki tapped the photo-icon of his brother and held the phone close to his ear. A gruff voice replied on the other end.

"Sleeping in late today Thor…?" Loki asked and the corner of his mouth tugging upwards and his voice slightly mischievous.

"Loki…!" Thor's voice sounded more refreshed at once.

"I'm sorry I haven't replied to so many of your texts, I forget my phone all the time here"

"It's alright, I'm just very pleasantly surprised you called" There was a smile in Thor's voice. Loki almost wanted to jump right into enthusing about his new life, but there was something in the way Thor spoke…

"Is everything alright?"

"Of course, why-"

"You're a horrible liar Thor"

Thor sighed, it sounded heavy even through the phone.

"I broke up with Sif last night" came the quiet reply.

"You… broke up with Sif? But why?" Loki had always noticed how Sif actually fitted in with that rag-tag team Thor called friends. She had even tried to make nice with him, but Loki wasn't that easily fooled. He appreciated the effort though.

"Stuff just… wasn't working"

"Stuff…?" Loki arched an eyebrow.

"Stuff…" Thor confirmed.

"Does this stuff involve cheating on Sif?"

"What…!? No…!" Thor sputtered, so Loki had hit close to home then at least.

"You are surprisingly calm though, last time you broke up you nearly tore down the house"

"Yeah well… I broke up this time"

"Then what is this 'stuff' you're talking about then Thor?" Loki said impatiently, curiosity had always been a burden of his, which he quite enjoyed.

"I… there might be someone else I'm interested in"

"Someone else…?" Loki arched an eyebrow again, was Thor really that stupid? No girl would be like Sif. She was unique and even Loki would admit it.

"Yes…I'm not sure though"

"Well who might this girl be then?"

"It's a he Loki…"

"Oh…"

Oh indeed.

**So sorry for slow updates, this might be the pace for a while! I'm taking latin backwards (at least I hope I'll manage to do it) meaning I take the difficult crap first (level 5 and 6) and the easy crap next semester (level 2, 3 and 4) makes sense aye? xD**


	9. Bruce: Cut the strings

Bruce walked into the piano room and as usual Loki was already there, but unlike any other time he constantly had to stop his playing and go back a few paces.

"Something's bothering you" He stated as he walked in, Loki let his arms fall down at his sides and just looked up at him a little helplessly.

"What's wrong Loki…?" Bruce sat down next to him. The young man sighed heavily.

"Some weeks back I was called by my brother and I spoke to my mother for the first time since I came here… so I invited them over for… well the Christmas concert"

"But, that's great isn't it?"

"If they would come yes…they won't" Loki's voice wavered.

"What, why not…?" Bruce's brows furrowed gently.

"Who cares…?!" Loki got up abruptly.

"You know it all makes sense now, now that I know that I really NEVER was part of that family" the brunette pianist kicked the wall before turning back towards Bruce.

"They'll NEVER come and listen to me play, for that means that they have to swallow that I am BETTER than their DUMB son. And we CAN'T have that now CAN we!?"

It was heart breaking to watch and yet he remained calmly seated and just observed as Loki heaved for breath before his lips trembled and his hands clenched into fists.

"They'll never acknowledge me…they don't want to… 'cus I'm not-" Loki was quickly silenced by warm arms that drew him against a firm chest. He was about a head or more higher than professor Banner and yet he felt very small as his professor hugged him close.

"I know how it is to not get the simple acknowledgment that you seek from those close to you" Bruce said quietly and paused as he simply listened to the calming breath of his student. His mind wandered back to a time when he had been the embodiment of disappointment as his dad tossed his sheet music into the fireplace.

"Listen Loki" Bruce pulled back and had to tilt his head a little upwards to look into those emerald eyes.

"You have a wonderful talent and you ARE appreciated and acknowledged here. Don't let this burden your talent Loki, if you do it will bother you for the rest of your life. I would know"

"What do you mean?" Bruce gestured towards one of the chairs and Loki sat down, Bruce sat down next to him as before.

"When I was just a boy…" He begun and smiled slightly. "I played the piano, my parents encouraged it and they were probably happy that I had a "cultural" hobby" Bruce chuckled, but it was humorless.

"But when I became a teenager my parents, who were both scientists, wanted me to develop my scientific talent. I however wanted to be a professional pianist, even if science interested me and came to me easily. My parents didn't exactly agree."

"Couldn't you do both…?"

"They thought my passion for the piano would disturb my development within science. So they forbade me to play"

"You're kidding…" Loki arched an elegant brow.

"No, but I didn't listen of course I thought it was foolish, I still do"

"Well it is!"

"It suddenly became very real though as my dad took my sheet music and books on music and burned it"

"…what…" Loki's eyes widened. Bruce still smiled, but it was tinged with sadness.

"I was disappointed of course, they stopped attending my concerts and would make it very difficult for me to attend. It really reached its peak as my father had the strings in my piano cut right before a concert. The piano sounded strangled before it died underneath my very fingertips"

"At a concert…?" Loki straightened up.

"Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that I gave up after that, I could have continued. I could have looked for a solution. Like you" The smile changed into a brighter one.

"Like me…"

"For all those years you played and no one was there to listen or encourage your talent and yet you continued and then you cut the ties yourself and came here. Don't let yourself down like I did Loki, your talent should be for everyone to hear" Bruce stood up.

"Is… that why you can't play anymore…only technically?" it was a silent question.

"Yes…" and the reply was just as silent.

Silence… Then, a smile…

"I did rebel and became a music teacher didn't I?" he winked at the still seated man, a small smile crept onto the other's face.

"You did"

"Come, let's get you playing that waltz" he ruffled his student's hair before seating himself in front of the piano, patting the spot next to himself.

After dinner Bruce sat alone in his office, staring at an old picture of him by the piano his parents by his side, all of them were smiling into the camera and his father had his hand proudly upon his son's shoulder.

Parents that ignored their children's talents angered him, how much talent went squandered because of it?

His brown eyes moved over to a bigger picture, him with some of his students that had graduated. His eyes softened and a smile tugged at his lips, he might not be able to play, but his inner pianist more or less lived through the people he taught.

He perked up a little as he heard playing from the concert hall down below, it was the Death waltz so it couldn't be anyone else than Loki. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief. Loki was the greatest talent to have ever had crossed paths with Bruce and he felt truly honored to be allowed to hone such a brilliant talent.

"He's at that quite often your new gold star" Bruce swung around in his chair and faced Clint who stood in the doorway.

"Practice is the way to success Clint, you know that or have you forgotten all the times you practiced-"

"Yeah, yeah save it professor"

"Something you need Barton?"

"Fury sent me here to talk about that project"

"Well, have you told the students of it?"

"Nope"

"You're not a student anymore Clint, you're a teacher, but you seem to constantly forget that"

"It's only been a year"

"Which isn't an excuse and you know it"

"Yeah well I'll inform them soon, have you told YOUR students about it?"

"I don't have that many students, but I think they are already in on something"

"Of course" Clint snorted. "The ever brilliant classical-arts students"

"Just because you decided to switch branch Clint-"

"It's not MY fault I wasn't good enough, 'cus I was but that old HARPY didn't understand my talent" Clint hissed.

"Clint" Bruce said calmly. "Everyone has agreed that things could have progressed and happened differently, no one ever said you weren't good enough. You were experimental which was great"

"Yeah well someone should have told Hill that"

"You could start anew again you know"

"Forget it"

"But you could play so very beautifully if you wanted to-"

"I DON'T PLAY VIOLIN, okay?" Clint's grey eyes were dangerously narrowed. Down below the death waltz reached its conclusion.

**Ta-dam, the issues and plot thickens.**

**Here's the death waltz Loki is playing, and yes it IS possible to play it solo. www. youtube watch?v=5F7GNQAO4T4**

**For those of you wondering what happened to Thor's "I think I like a dude" thing from ch 7, well we'll get back to that but Loki couldn't care less about that right about now, cus Thor also told Loki they won't make it to his concert D: Bad Odin!**


	10. L: Hybrid

**The real chapter 10, thanks to all of you wonderful people I was struck with inspiration like lightning from the blue sky. Thank you. I will be forever grateful! Hope you like this chapter.**

Loki tapped one of the tangents aimlessly, he had gone over the message Frigga had left him on his phone. It was heart wrenching and frustrating, she would apologize and sound so conflicted as she strained her voice to hide the underlying sobs. It was hard listening to hear; she made Loki want to believe her words rang true. He knew better though, if he let Frigga lull him into believing again he would be even more disappointed than the last times it had happened.

His memory took him back to the first time he had tried and showed his adoptive parents his piano playing and Thor had hogged the spot light with his garage band. He clenched his fist and hit the tangents a bit harshly, getting the piano to cry out. He instantly loosened up and stroked the tangents comfortingly. His fingers found the first couple of tunes for "Twinkle, Twinkle" he had barley played the first segment before he got up from the stool abruptly.

Nocturne gazed at him lazily from her spot on the bed.

"I'm going out" He told her as he slipped on his coat, the slightly chilly autumn weather was already here and Loki had no intentions of getting sick. He stepped into the evening and started to walk towards the D&D building, halfway there he decided against it and stopped. He looked over at modern arts, from the looks of it they were "silent" partying, which meant getting wasted without music... Loki rolled his eyes, how those idiots weren't all suspended was beyond him. He began walking towards the "Heart".

He thought of going up to the cantina and catch some evening snack before they closed, sounds from the concert hall distracted him however and he walked over to the door. He spotted Bruce and nearly called out to him before he was interrupted by halting violin playing.

"Fucking hell Bruce I can't do this"

"Don't you dare toss that violin to the ground Barton" Bruce said warningly.

"Well get your shiny assed classic students to do this."

"This is supposed to be an introduction to the project"

"Yeah, but I don't see you play that piano piece you have in front of you there"

Loki slipped inside and more or less hid in the back of the hall.

"I… I can't play"

"Yeah, well neither can I so leave me the hell alone Banner" Clint set the violin down and marched towards the exit.

"The school has already made promises Ba-"

"Then find someone who can play!" Clint hissed as he turned around, from his hiding spot Loki could see how tense the man was.

"We can't do that, the project is meant to unify the students. Show them the potential. We can't show potential if we don't have proof it can work."

"Then I guess the school traditions continue Banner" Clint sneered before he turned on his heel and exited the hall. Bruce sighed heavily, Loki didn't dare move. For what would he say? Sorry I spied professor. It would be too embarrassing.

Banner moved about a little on the stage and a careful tune from the piano sounded, then another. Loki's eyes widened and he had to concentrate not to get up and see that it was truly Bruce Banner that was carefully tampering with the piano. The tunes were slow, haltingly, but by each tune it grew a little stronger and faster.

A smile grew on Loki's features until, but it quickly died together with a wrong tune from the piano. He dared to peek up and could see his professor stare down at his shaking hands before he buried his face in them. His shoulders shook up and down carefully before he suddenly slammed the piano shut and rushed out of the hall.

Loki must have stayed in that crouching position for at least 5 or 10 minutes before he got up and walked towards the stage, casting glances back at the entrances every now and then, almost sure that either Professor Banner or Clint Barton would come back in. He stepped onto the stage with the same feel of awe as he always got within the Heart Hall. By the abandoned violin there was sheet music and a recorder. He tapped the review button on the recorder and was greeted by a drum beat; he furrowed his brows before he picked up the sheet music.

"Flower Dance – strings"

"Flower Dance – bass"

"Flower dance – SFX"

He looked over at the piano who also held sheet music ; "Flower Dance – Piano"

This was a hybrid; Loki sat down by the piano and studied the piece further .He cautiously opened the piano and began to play the notes tryingly. Hybrids were meaningless anyway, they only made a mess of the cleaner instruments. The piece was simple enough and Loki had no problems playing out the intro, but as soon as he begun the main segment something sounded off.

He glanced at the recorder irritated, it was still on and- he stopped and listened to it for a good couple of minutes before he once more put his fingers to the tangents, his eyes at the sheet music in front of him as he started up the main segment again.

Even though he was gaping in surprise his fingers kept playing. It was as if he was bewitched and it was easy enough to simply replay rounds. But with the beat it sounded new every time he played it out. He got up quickly, breaking the spell and hit the off button on the recorder before he ran out of the hall.

"Natasha!"

"Loki, I'm kind of busy"

"Do you know someone decent who can play bass?"

"Uh…"

"Great, bring them to Heart Hall and if you know someone who's not a modern arts student that can work that SFX thingy in there that would be great too. I need to find Sue, maybe her brother can help" Loki was out of her doorway before she could open her mouth again.

"…aha?" She looked after the speed ball that was Loki.

"Okay piano dude, what is this?" Johnny Storm didn't look amused as he stepped into Heart Hall, Steven Rogers right behind him.

"Storm" Loki greeted before he turned to look at everyone.

"I know some of us here don't exactly like each other, but I was hoping we could put aside our differences for a little while" He let his eyes linger slightly by each of them. There was Sue Storm, her brother Johnny Storm walking up to her and nudging her shoulder with a teasing smile as she rolled her eyes. Steven Rogers who was the modern artist the classical students more than tolerated. His best friend Natasha who simply looked amused and her roommate Darcy Lewis who looked like someone had stolen her cookie.

"Then give us a reason" Johnny looked at him impatiently.

"How many of you know that our school is low on funding?" Loki raised an eyebrow, the others exchanged glances.

"Well… we had started to notice what with the cut downs and such…" Sue spoke up carefully.

"Something about that we didn't meet time demand or some other B.S like that" Her brother supplied and shrugged.

"Fury's looking into it, he upgraded the modern branch as recent as last year" He added as an afterthought with a triumphant glance at the classical arts students in the room. Loki's eyes narrowed somewhat before they eased up again.

"Whatever Storm, but I asked you all to come down because of this" He held up the sheet music before he handed out the different parts to them.

"What the hell is this?"

"This is sheet music Johnny boy, I'm not sure if you know what it is for seeing as you are a modern arts student but, you'll get it sometime" Darcy comforted and received a grimace and glare from Johnny.

"It's a piece consisting of both more classical instruments and modern elements" Loki explained.

"Hm… the violin piece can be done electronically" Sue murmured, this was why Loki wanted Sue here. She was perfect for what this piece required. Growing up in a home with modern musicians and still being able to keep up her interest for the classical arts, she had understanding and perspective more or less all of the other students lacked.

"Speak up sis, Ma always said you had to stop mumbling"

"This is a collaboration piece Johnny" She sent her brother a stern look.

"It was supposed to be an introduction to a project the school has cooked up in hopes of meeting society demand" Loki elaborated.

"But Loki… you hate cross music like that" Natasha spoke up, Loki closed his eyes for a second.

"True, but I heard how it was intended and it is a nice piece… to hell with it! It's a beautiful piece and who ever made it managed to keep the classics clear, it isn't drowned out by synthetic sound and drums." He looked at them all again, could feel an authority he had never felt before grow within him in time with seeing understanding in the other's eyes.

"Most of all" He continued. "This place is my home, my dream and my future. I don't know about you, but I would not want to lose it. This is the least I can do, I can try" Silence…

"Well, what the hell are we waiting for then?" Johnny sat down behind the SFX board.

It took time, much more time than Loki was used to spending learning a new piece which frustrated him. He wasn't the only one though, which was where Natasha and Steve as the calming centers came in. As they didn't dare to bring in any one else into this little project the practice was always late in the evenings, another thing was that they had to put in a recording of Sue's playing into the SFX board as the piece was meant for two violins and not just one.

Johnny proved he did have some patience when he managed to teach the art of an SFX board to Darcy so he could play the beat during the melody instead.

Steve was wonderful to work with and he handled the bass with great care and was always paying attention to the ones playing together with him. It was almost frustrating that no screw up was ever Steve's fault.

When Natasha wasn't calming disputes and frustration, she worked on composing a graceful dance to the melody.

'It IS called the flower dance' she would say the first time she was asked what she was doing.

Nocturne began coming down to the hall as she seemingly missed Loki, everyone thought it was quite cute and she became the mascot for the project.

The first evening they managed to get through the piece without screw ups Loki almost felt like he was 13 and had just mastered Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, only this time someone was there to cheer loudly as the piece finished.

"Are we AWESOME or what?!" Johnny grinned.

"This is a message to all students and teachers, please go to Heart Hall at once, repeat: This is a message to all students and teachers, please go to Heart Hall at once"

Loki couldn't have felt more nervous as he stood behind the stage together with the rest of the group, watching as students and teachers alike poured into the hall and sat down, questions in their faces, low murmuring filling every corner of the building.

"We'll be slaughtered" Darcy sobbed.

"If they don't think this is awesome I'm frying them" Johnny groused.

"Now, now everyone calm down" Steve reasoned.

"You're on Darcy" Loki nudged her gently, she swallowed harshly before walking onto the stage as the doors to the hall closed signalizing that everyone was in. The hall quieted as Darcy walked onto the lit stage.

"Could someone hit the light switch by the doors? This is kind of a one-group show so we don't have any fancy technicians to help us, thanks" Darcy waved at whoever turned and licked off the lights in the hall so the only lights were on the stage.

"We have a little something to show you, hopefully we haven't butchered it so the Profs. Will know what it is. You other people just have to sit and listen and please don't lynch us afterwards" With that said she moved over to the SFX board and sat down, starting the intro with recordings of Loki's piano playing as the rest of the musicians entered the stage.

Loki sat down in front of the piano and at once the intro was over and silence was followed by the "fairy dust sound effect" as Johnny called his fingers began the practiced dance over the piano, not long after he was followed by Johnny on drums and Darcy adding effects.

New murmurs erupted in the hall, Loki dared a glance in Professor Banner's direction, the man was the perfect picture of shock. The pianist smiled to himself and turned his attention back to the piano as Sue followed up with her violin and Darcy added the double effect as Natasha swept onto the stage in her beautiful green and glittering dress as she danced in the center of the musicians.

Together with dying tunes from the violin Loki faded out the piece, finally concluding the melody. Natasha did her final move and movement ceased completely on stage as the artists turned their gaze towards their public.

**Song (I REALLY recommend listening to it!) (Please note that on the side bar there is a classic piano/violin version that gives a better resemblance as to how Sue Storm plays it) www. youtube watch?v=p7PMJfAT6fk&feature=related**


End file.
